{jcomments on}OMAR, AGNEWS, BXL, le 04 juin 2010 – www1.voanews.com- June 04, 2010–A Ugandan opposition leader said he is compiling more evidence for the chief prosecutor of the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) to begin investigating President Yoweri Museveni for alleged war crimes.
BURUNDI :
RWANDA
UGANDA
Opposition Leader Wants ICC to Investigate Uganda’s Leader
Peter Clottey/www1.voanews.com/ 04 June 2010
A Ugandan opposition leader said he is compiling more evidence for the chief prosecutor of the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) to begin investigating President Yoweri Museveni for alleged war crimes.
Olara Otunnu, head of the Uganda People’s Congress party, told VOA there is a long trail of evidence of massacres, human rights abuses and other atrocities committed in Uganda, as well as neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, that were allegedly carried out under President Museveni’s instructions.
“There is a long trail of bloodshed and massacres wherever Mr. Museveni has been. Last September, in the streets of Kampala, he ordered the shooting of unarmed demonstrators. More than 40 people were killed and hundreds were rounded up, tortured and jailed without trials. To this day, there’s been no investigation or accountability,” he said.
Shortly after meeting chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, opposition leader Otunnu told reporters he presented a dossier of evidence so that the ICC could start an investigation of President Museveni.
But, supporters of Mr. Museveni dismissed the accusations as a way to score cheap political points ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Opposition leader Otunnu said he is compiling more evidence against Mr. Museveni over his alleged war crimes.
“I handed to Mr. Moreno Ocampo some information and he asked for more information, which I will be providing to him. We have tons of tons of information on all these cases. So, information is not a problem and there is actually plenty of information in the public domain, as well in reports in various writings, including my own writing, and there are still survivors who can testify to what Mr. Museveni did,” Otunnu said.
Otunnu met the chief prosecutor on the sidelines of the ongoing ICC conference on the Rome Statute in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. He said the prosecutor requested to meet him after holding discussions with an official of his opposition Uganda People’s Congress Party.
Opposition leader Otunnu served as the former U.N. Under-Secretary General for Children Affairs. But, he is now a fierce critic of President Museveni, often describing the Ugandan leader as a war criminal.
Otunnu accused the ICC of only singling out the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) over atrocities committed during the northern Uganda conflict with the national army.
He also said the court should have prosecuted President Museveni, whom he accused of giving instructions to the national army to commit various crimes, including human rights abuses, in northern Uganda.
But, the government contends that residents in northern Uganda were forced into camps to protect them from the LRA’s insurgency.
PFC Energy Advises Uganda To Approve Tullow Oil Partnership
online.wsj.com/JUNE 4, 2010
KAMPALA, Uganda (Dow Jones)–PFC Energy has advised the Ugandan government to approve a proposed partnership between U.K.-based Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN), China-based Cnooc Ltd.(CEO) and France-based Total SA (TOT) for the development of the country’s oil fields in the lake Albert basin, the Ugandan presidency said Thursday.
In a statement seen by Dow Jones Newswires, a spokeswoman from the president’s office said PFC Energy, which was recently tasked to carry out research and advise the government on the viability of the partnership between Uganda and the three oil companies in the exploration of the oil resource, handed over its report recommending that the partnership would be in the best interests of the country.
“The consultants reported to the President that the partnership between the Government of Uganda and the three companies – Tullow, Total and CNOOC – is beneficial as it will bring immense capacity to the development of the Ugandan energy sector,” the statement said.
Tullow has agreed a joint venture with Cnooc and Total for the development of the country’s oil fields in three blocks in the Lake Albert basin, slated to commence in the next couple of years. However, the deal is awaiting government’s approval.
At least a billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves are estimated in three exploration blocks, partly owned by Tullow. London-listed Heritage Oil holds a 50% stake in two of the blocks and is currently in the process of selling its stakes to Tullow for up to $1.5 billion, the deal also awaits government’s approval.
The president’s office statement quoted Michael Rodgers, the PFC Energy partner for Asia, as saying that the benefits of the partnership would include building of a strong financial capability, an advanced technological position, motivation to develop the oil resources quickly and more efficiently as well as provision of extensive large scale project management skills.
President Yoweri Museveni received the report Wednesday and said the government would study it.
-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires
TANZANIA:
CONGO RDC :
Congo Human Rights Leader, Bahizire, Found Dead
By June Kellum/Epoch Times Staff / Jun 4, 2010
The body of human rights leader Floribert Chebeya Bahizire, was found on Wednesday in his car in the suburbs outside of the Congolese capital Kinshasa.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged Congo authorities to investigate his death.
Bahizire was the founder and president of Voix des Sans Voix (Voice of the Voiceless), which focused on politically sensitive issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including military corruption and connections between militias and external political forces, according to a U.N. press release.
The U.N. is concerned with the escalating trend of intimidation of human rights workers, journalists, political opponents, and victims and witnesses in the DRC, of which Bahizire’s death is a sobering example.
“For more than 20 years, Chebeya Bahizire had survived many death threats, arrests, and ill treatment due to his work as a human rights defender,” said Pillay in the release.
Overdue: ICC Investigation Of Uganda President’s Role In Alleged War Crimes
Black Star News Editorial /June 4, 2010
[Black Star News Editorial]
For years The Black Star News had been an almost solitary voice, demanding that the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigate war crimes committed by Uganda’s military in the Democratic Republic of Congo and inside Uganda under commander in chief Gen. Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda.
The ICC had, commendably, already launched an investigation of leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army for the LRA’s atrocities and indicted its commanders; yet, the ICC’s silence with respect to crimes by Gen. Museveni’s forces sullied the organization’s reputation.
What’s more, this newspaper has published scores of editorials and articles declaring that the ICC was hyprocritical in pursuing Sudan president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir on crimes of war while ignoring the genocide committed by Uganda’s army in its Acholi region, and in the DRC, during Uganda’s occupation of Eastern Congo.
Another lone voice in the political and public arena, has been that of Olara Otunnu, a former Uganda ambassador to the United Nations, a former foreign affairs minister, and a former UnderSecretary General of the United Nations. In several interviews with The Black Star News, Otunnu spoke about how the ICC had damaged its reputation by ignoring the alleged crimes committed by Gen. Museveni’s troops in DRC and in Uganda’s Acholi region, while focusing solely on those committed by the vicious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) under Joseph Kony.
Finally, today, Luis Moreno Ocampo, the ICC Prosecuctor relented by announcing that the court would consider the alleged Uganda crimes. He had gone to Uganda to attend the ICC Review conference –wherein delegates from around the world gathered in Kampala to reflect on the ICC’s record and to consider expanding its brief– when Otunnu, who is now a presidential aspirant and leader of Uganda People’s Congress, an opposition political party, confronted Ocampo about his reluctance to investigate the crimes by Gen. Museveni’s army against Ugandan and DRC civilians.
Otunnu also called Gen. Museveni’s hosting of the ICC’s review conference, in light of the massive human rights violations he’s associated with “a mockery of the Rome Statute” and added “a moment of great shame,” for the court. The Rome Statute refers to the treaty, enacted in 2002, that created the court.
Ocampo called on Otunnu to formally submit evidence about the alleged war crimes committed against Acholi civilians in Uganda. “If we see need to open new investigations, we shall,” Ocampo said. “They are important and I can investigate if he gives me real information,” he told journalists, referring to Otunnu’s charges.
Ocampo cautioned that the crimes the ICC can handle would cover the period after July 2002, when the Rome Statute came into effect.
“I have already handed over to Ocampo some information and I will be handing more information and I urge other Ugandans to provide information regarding the massacres and impunity in northern Uganda and Congo,” Otunnu quickly responded, speaking to reporters after meeting with Ocampo. “People on the ground can tell you which crime was committed by whom,” Otunnu continued, referring to civilians in Uganda’s Acholi region.
“There is a trail of blood, massacre and impunity that follows Museveni,” Otunnu added, referring to areas of major bloodshed–the unifying theme is that always Museveni’s forces were involved. Otunnu also called for the killings of about 30 civilians by security forces in September to be investigated by the ICC.
There will be no shortage of a list of crimes committed in Uganda’s Acholi region by Museveni’s troops; the primary one being the confinement of two million Acholis in concentration camps –euphemistically referred to as “internally displaced people’s camps — where possibly one million or more people died through planned neglect.
Some of these camps are still just being dismantled. They certainly existed in 2005, three years into the Rome Statute, when, that year, the World Health Organization (WHO), reported that up to 1,000 civilians were dying per week; they perished from hunger, dehydration and treatable diseases. Many women and men were also rape victims; there were even allegations that soldiers known to be HIV positive targeted some victims for rape during the long conflict between Gen. Museveni’s troops and the LRA.
Some of these Victims from Uganda’s Acholi region, who also attended the Review conference, are now newly emboldened and have called for Ocampo to investigate alleged war crimes by the Ugandan army.
Gen. Museveni had argued that the camps were meant to protect civilians from LRA atrocities. Otunnu questioned why the international community rejected an attempt to set up such camps in Burundi, when the regime there was also fighting insurgency, while tolerating it in Uganda. In any event, several-times more civilians perished inside Museveni’s camps under the “care” of his army than at the hands of the LRA.
With respect to the DRC crimes, that verdict has been out for years, when in 2005 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in favor of Congo which had alleged that Museveni’s army and allied militias committed war crimes in DRC, during Uganda’s occupation of Eastern Congo. The ICJ, also known as The World Court, ordered $10 billion in compensation to Congo.
In a very important front-page article on June 8, 2006, The Wall Street Journal reported that the ICC had also began an investigation of the Congo crimes –the same crimes for which the ICJ had found Uganda liable. The Wall Street Journal also reported that some of Ocampo’s colleagues were apalled by the cozy relationship he had with Museveni, who certainly knew his
responsibility for the Congo atrocities. Indeed, the same Wall Street Journal article reported that Museveni had asked Kofi Annan, then UN Secretary General to block the ICC’s probe, to which Annan reportedly said he had no such powers.
With respect to Gen. Museveni’s role in the Congo crimes, Otunnu has observed.
“Taylor sponsored and financed crimes in Sierra Leone that is why he is being prosecuted so should Museveni who sponsored and financed crimes in Congo,” Otunnu said today, referring to former Liberia president Charles Taylor, now being tried at the Hague.
Otunnu noted that the ICC is already trying DRC suspects Thomas Lubanga and Jean Pierre Bemba and Thomas Lubanga, militia chiefs accused of presiding over massacres, mass rapes, and pillage. Yet, both these warlords had been financed and trained by Museveni, Otunnu said, wondering why Taylor could be tried for sponsoring war crimes in Sierra Leone, while Museveni spared for his role in Congo’s.
Museveni is a master of PR, and sadly with Ocampo’s collaboration, hoped to use his hosting of the Review conference to sanitize his role in the Uganda and DRC crimes by his army. He was at his best when he spoke at the conference this week, shedding crocodile tears for victims of atrocities in Uganda’s Acholi region at the hands of the LRA and promising compensation. Of course, he didn’t mention his own contributions to the calamity, and was mute when it came to the $10 billion owed to Congo victims.
Both Ocampo and Annan sat nearby during this revolting spectacle.
But great crimes can never be concealed forever. The process of accountability may have truly began today.
Let justice be pursued vigorously, without favor, on behalf of all victims and against all perpetrators, in Uganda, and throughout Central Africa.
KENYA :
Kenya, China to cement bilateral relationship
June 04, 2010/ english.people.com.cn /Source:Xinhua
Kenya and China on Thursday pledged to strengthen bilateral cooperation during a meeting between senior officials of the two countries.
A high-level delegation headed by Wang Gang, vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, arrived here on Wednesday afternoon to for a four-day friendship visit to Kenya.
“Our bilateral relations is very cordial as this has been demonstrated by sincere trust and mutual cooperation between the two countries,” Wang Gang said in talks with Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.
He said the Sino-Kenyan ties have witnessed great development of friendship and successful cooperation in such fields as politics, infrastructure and trade, as well as mutual support in international affairs.
Wang said the two countries have respected and accommodated each other’s core interests and major concerns.
For his part, Musyoka expressed thanks for China’s assistance for Kenya in the past years and briefed Wang on Kenya’s efforts to push forward regional peace, stability and integration.
The vice president said that the east African nation appreciates the huge investment China has put into Kenya’s infrastructure, noting that the Kenyan coalition government will continue to attache greater importance to bilateral relations with China by further strengthening mutual cooperation in various fields and unswervingly sticking to the one-China position.
Bike-Powered Device Recharges Phone .Analysis by Alyssa Danigelis
Jun 4, 2010/ news.discovery.com
Nokia just announced a bike kit that will allow riders to use pedal power to recharge mobile phones. First debuted in Kenya, the Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit will hit the international market by year’s end. For novice cyclers and experienced bike commuters alike, devices that capture pedal power are clever and convenient.
In Kenya, the Nokia kit retails at approximately $18 — it’s aimed at developing areas where bikes are prevalent — and can provide enough power to a Nokia mobile phone after 20 minutes at 10 miles per hour for about an hour of talk time, or an amazing 74 hours of standby. The kit includes a dynamo that attaches to the front wheel and connects to a holder that keeps the phone in place. Charge times vary, though, depending on the phone, and for now the kit is limited to sets with 2mm charging interfaces.
Having just spent nearly a month getting nervously reacquainted with bike riding by pedaling a zillion-pound mountain bike around, an affordable charger that takes advantage of all that sweaty energy sounds sweet to me. It’s only fair to point out that Nokia definitely isn’t the only company making green add-on devices for bikes. Several others are helping bikers take advantage of their rides:
The HYmini is a small fan-like device that’s been around for several years. It can charge electronics using wind power and an internal 1200 mAh battery stores the electricity. According to the latest specifications, after 20 minutes of exposure to the wind the device can provide 40 minutes of play time on an Mp3 player. While I can’t vouch for how well it actually works, a bike holder kit will position the small device on one of the handlebars to better capture the breeze.
Dahon Global’s BioLogic ReeCharge kit has a 1600 mAh lithium polymer battery that attaches to a hub dynamo and can recharge USB-chargeable devices, including iPhones, cell phones, and GPS units. Last I saw, it was going to retail for around $100. Dahon also makes a bike mount that protects iPhones with a thin membrane in order for the phone to continue responding to touch so you can avoid the whole dangerous phoning-while-biking thing.
German cycling products company Busch & Müller makes a charger called E-Werk that also connects to a hub dynamo and can has knobs to adjust the voltage and current, depending on what you need. Released last year, E-Werk comes with a ton of adapters for all kinds of gadgets The disadvantages are that its initial release was aimed at the European market and the price was close to $179. Still, with all those adapters who needs to be bound to the grid any more?
Getting somewhere specific on the bike is usually enough motivation for me, but adding electricity generation could push me to take the long way there, and pedal like my phone depended on it.
ANGOLA :
SOUTH AFRICA:
AFRICA / AU :
Civilians killed in Somali fighting
Friday, June 04, 2010 /english.aljazeera.net
At least 17 civilians have been killed after Somali government forces, supported by African Union peacekeepers, launched attacks against fighters from al-Shabab, the armed anti-government group, in Mogadishu.
Among the dead are six women and a family of five whose home was destroyed by shelling, Ali Muse, the head of the city’s ambulance service, said on Thursday.
He said at least 61 other civilians were wounded in the heavy shelling and gun-battles that started early on Thursday in northern Mogadishu.
Most of the victims lived in the Somali capital’s Kaaran district, the scene of heavy exchanges of shellfire between the two sides.
Residents said the government soldiers were backed by AU peacekeepers in armoured vehicles.
Some of the shelling, mainly fired from government positions and AU bases, randomly hit southern and northern parts of the war-scared city, Muse said.
Areas captured
A senior Somali military official claimed victory and said government forces will hold on to the areas they captured.
“We have driven insurgents from a large swath of the capital and we will not withdraw from those conquered areas like we used to do before,” General Ali Araye, the infantry commander, said.
He also said there will be further offensives against the fighters.
Araye, however, said this is not the start of the government’s long-awaited offensive to drive out fighters from Mogadishu.
Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, al-Shabab’s spokesman, denied that his group’s fighters were defeated during Thursday’s attack, saying that they had inflicted casualties on government forces.
Al-Shabab fighters are trying to hold on to the city’s north, which puts the presidential palace, known as Villa Somalia, within easy range of their crude mortar rockets.
Last month, al-Shabab claimed its forces would soon seize the palace.
Tensions also remained high in the Galgadud region of central Somalia where clashes betweenal-Shabab and the Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca group, a pro-government militia, killed 24 people on Wednesday.
Thursday’s shelling disrupted businesses in the city’s largest trading centre, Bakara market.
Bustling market
The market is usually bustling with business despite tensions in the capital.
The area it is in, however, is controlled by al-Shabab and its allied group, Hizbul Islam.
Over the past three years the market has seen near-daily shelling between fighters, and the AU and Somali soldiers.
Somalia has had no effective government for 19 years and Western nations and neighbours say the country is used as a shelter by fighters planning attacks in East Africa and further afield.
More than 21,000 civilians have been killed since the start of the violence.
Source: Agencies
UN /ONU :
USA :
CANADA :
World Bank meet: G20 agenda should add development
By ELAINE KURTENBACH (AP) /04062010
BUSAN, South Korea — The Group of 20 leading economies should seek to support growth in the developing world to help ensure a sustainable long-term global recovery and fend off a relapse into crisis, World Bank officials said Friday.
Top finance ministers from advanced and developing economies, meeting in this South Korean port city, face myriad demands as they work to set priorities for a G-20 summit in Toronto later this month.
“The G-20 needs the rest of the developing world for reasons of self-interest,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a World Bank managing director said at a conference on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting.
“G20 countries need new sources of demand. The developing world has the potential, and it has the people,” she said. “The G20 must recognize this and give development the central place it deserves in its agenda,” she said.
With European growth stymied by a sovereign debt crisis and growth in the U.S. still relatively weak, economists warned that the world faces a real risk of a “double dip” back into recession.
The G-20 financial leaders face pressure to shape a consensus on how to reshape the global financial system, while also working to fend off disruptions like the European debt crisis, which has triggered slides in global financial markets and the euro.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday praised the steps Europe is taking to deal with the crisis but said the challenge was in the execution.
“They have laid out a very strong program and they are starting to put that in place and it is starting to get a little more traction,” Geithner said in an interview with CNBC while en route to Busan.
Managing the European debt fiasco has recently overshadowed longer term efforts to reform banking regulation and set up financial safety nets for countries emerging from crisis.
“This crisis presents a new threat to the global economy. Just when we thought we have turned the corner, there are new clouds on the horizon,” said Okonjo-Iweala.
The G-20, founded in 1999, evolved into a global crisis management forum with the 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers and the resulting turmoil in financial markets. It now needs to set an agenda that will promote sustainable long-term global growth, said Asian Development Bank chief economist Jong-Wha Lee.
He and other speakers said the big economies can generate jobs by channeling investment into filling the gaping need for better infrastructure in developing countries, while also ensuring they rebalance growth at home to help make capital more affordable for crucial productive uses.
Justin Lin Yifu, a World Bank chief economist and vice president, said that requires support from governments for risk-averse private companies, which can find lucrative opportunities in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world, where growth is forecast to average 6 percent this year — twice the rate for rich countries.
Okonjo-Iweali called for the financial leaders to support efforts to recover funds from corruption, a major loss of resources for the developing world. Aid for trade and greater market access for poor countries to sell their goods and services in richer countries are other key priorities, she said.
Experts pointed to South Korea, a country that emerged from poverty to become a technology and industrial powerhouse, as an example of how such efforts can transform an economy. South Korea, which assumed the rotating G-20 chair this year and will convene a summit in November in its capital, Seoul, favors having development included in the G-20 agenda.
Plans for a meeting Friday of top financial officials of China, Brazil, Russia and India, ahead of the G-20 talks, further reflect the rising profile of emerging and developing economies in the forum, and their desire for a greater say in how the world economy is managed.
The finance ministers, who last met in Washington in April, are looking to shore up confidence in financial markets and in a nearly $1 trillion bailout plan for ailing European economies, hoping to stave off any wider damage to the world economic recovery.
They are preparing a communique to be issued Saturday at the conclusion of their meeting.
But agreement is far from certain on proposals for a bank tax, for setting new standards on how much capital banks need to protect against a future financial crisis and erecting “financial safety nets” to help emerging economies vulnerable to financial flows.
The U.S. and Europe favor a bank tax to pay for future bailouts, but others such as Canada and Australia oppose it given that their banks weathered the global crisis intact.
Geithner declined to say if the U.S. wants the G-20 to adopt a global target of 12 percent of an institution’s assets being held as a capital reserve — one option being considered. That would represent an increase from a current U.S. target of around 8 percent.
“We want to find a balance between making sure that these firms run with much more conservative, much stronger cushions against loss in future crises,” he said, refusing to say what target was being considered.
Sandvine Shares Rise On Strong 2Q Customer Growth >SVC.T
online.wsj.com/JUNE 4, 2010
By Laura Kusisto Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Sandvine (SVC.T), a provider of network-monitoring technology, said Thursday it added nine new customers in its second quarter, the most the company has signed in a single quarter in two years. Its stock rose sharply.
Analysts welcomed the news, noting they hadn’t expected so many new contracts. Sandvine had added six new customers in the first quarter.
In Toronto, Sandvine is up 12 Canadian cents or 6.3% to C$2.04 on volume of more than 500,000 shares.
The new customers include six fixed-line service providers and three mobile operators, including a DSL service provider with more than 1 million broadband subscribers. Four are based in North America, including one of the top 10 cable operators in the U.S. Three of the new customers come from the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) sales region, and one each from the Caribbean and Latin America, and Asia Pacific regions.
Analyst Eyal Ofir, of Canaccord Genuity, said he expected seven or eight new contracts, adding the high growth reaffirms confidence in the company’s potential. Ofir said the company’s addition of three mobile carriers and a top-ten U.S. cable company is evidence it’s growing in key markets.
Ofir doesn’t own Sandvine shares nor does Canaccord Genuity have an investment-banking relationship with the company.
Sandvine didn’t disclose the names of any of the new customers and could not be reached for comment.
There has been speculation U.S. mobile provider AT&T might be in trials with Sandvine’s products, which help wireless providers monitor customer traffic on their networks. Scotia Capital analyst Gus Papageorgiou said in a client note in March that a win from either AT&T or Verizon would “represent a break-out event for Sandvine.”
Several analysts said they are waiting for more solid indicators of growth from the company, which regularly adds customers without seeing a corresponding growth in revenue.
“If they can leverage their business model to generate higher revenues on their current spending base, it’s possible for Sandvine to grow revenues,” said one analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that “large contract wins would probably be required.”
-By Laura Kusisto, Dow Jones Newswires
Dow Jones Indexes Announces Component Changes in Global, Regional and Country Titans Blue-Chip Indexes
June 4, 2010/www.marketwatch.com
Changes are the Result of the Regular Annual and Quarterly Reviews
NEW YORK, Jun 3, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, today announced the results of the regular annual review of the Dow Jones Global Titans 50, Dow Jones Regional Titans and Dow Jones Country Titans Indexes. Changes being announced today will be effective after the close of trading on Friday, June 18, 2010.
In the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, the following two stocks will be added: GAZPROM OAO (Russia, Oil & Gas, Oil and Gas Producers, GAZP.RS) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (United States, Financials, Financial Services, GS). Companies exiting are: France Telecom (France, Telecommunications, Fixed Line Telecommunications, FTE.FR) and Nokia Corp. (Finland, Technology, Hardware and Equipment, NOK1V.HE). Total free-float market capitalization of the reconstituted Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index decreased to US$5.53 trillion from US$5.55 trillion as of June 2, 2010.
Regional allocation of the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, based on country of origin of the component stock:
Before After
Region Review Review
Americas 64.49% 64.95%
Europe 29.15% 28.73%
Asia/Pacific 6.37% 6.32%
The Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index is a 50-stock index that reflects the market performance of the world’s leading multinational companies.
Bank of China Ltd. (Hong Kong, Banks 3988.HK) and Reliance Industries Ltd.(India, Oil and Gas Producers) will be added to the Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index. The companies exiting are Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (Hong Kong, General Industrials) and KB Financial Group Inc. (Korea, Bank, 105560.SE). Total free-float market capitalization of the reconstituted Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index increased to US$1.69 trillion from US$1.64 trillion as of June 2, 2010. The Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index is a 50-stock index that reflects the market performance of the leading companies in 11 countries in the Asia/Pacific region.
In the Dow Jones BRIC 50 Index, the following six stocks will be added: Axis Bank Ltd. (India, Banks, 532215.BY), Cielo S/A Ord (Brazil, Financial Services, CIEL3.BR), Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd. (India, Industrials, Metals and Mining, 500900.BY), China Mobile Ltd. (China, Mobile Telecommunications, ADH.CI), China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., (Hong Kong, Mobile Telecommunications, 0762.HK) and CNOOC Ltd (China, Oil & Gas Producers, 0883.HK). Companies exiting are: Suzlon Energy Ltd. (India, Alternative Energy, 532667.BY), Metalurgica Gerdau S/A Pref (Brazil, Industrial Metals & Mining, GOAU4.BR), Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (China, Industrial Metals & Mining, 601600.SH), China COSCO Holdings Co. Ltd. (China, Industrial Metals & Mining, 601919.SH), China Communications Construction Co. Ltd.(China, Construction and Materials) and Reliance Communications Ltd (India, Mobile Telecommunications, 532712.BY) Total free-float market capitalization of the reconstituted Dow Jones BRIC 50 Index increased to US$959.95 billion from US$892.23 billion as of June 2, 2010.The Dow Jones BRIC 50 Index represents 50 of the largest and most liquid stocks traded in the Brazil, Russia, India and China offshore markets. The Dow Jones BRIC 50 Index is a composite of the four sub-indexes covering these markets.
In the Dow Jones Tiger Titans 50 Index, the following five stocks will be added: Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd. (Korea, Automobiles and Parts 012330.SE), LG Chem Ltd. (Korea, Chemicals, 051910.SE), Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. (Taiwan, Chemicals, 1326.TW), Li & Fung Ltd. (Singapore, Personal Goods, 0494.HK) and Tencent Holdings Ltd. (Hong Kong, Software and Computer Services, 0700.HK). Companies exiting are: Bank of Communications Co. Ltd. (Hong Kong, Banks, 3328.HK), Esprit Holdings Ltd. (Singapore, General Retailers, 0330.HK), SK Telecom Co. Ltd. (Korea, Mobile Telecommunications, 017670.SE), Au Optronics Corp. (Taiwan, Technology, Hardware and Equipment, 2409.TW) and KT&G Corp. (Korea, Tobacco, 033780.SE). Total free-float market capitalization of the reconstituted Dow Jones Tiger Titans 50 Index increased to US$948.77 billion from US$912.60 billion as of June 2, 2010. The Dow Jones Tiger Titans 50 Index represents companies whose blue-chip stocks are traded on the major exchanges of Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.
In the Dow Jones GCC Titans 40 Index, the following three stocks will be added: Gulf Bank of Kuwait K.S.C. (Kuwait, Banks, GBK.KW), Ahli United Bank B.S.C. (Bahrain, Banks, AUB.BH) and Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C. (Qatar, Telecommunications, VFQS.DO). Companies exiting are: Union National Bank PJSC (UAE, Banks, UNB.AD), Ithmaar Bank B.S.C. (Bahrain, Banks, ITHMR.BH), and Heritage Oil PLC (Great Britain, Oil & Gas, HOIL.LN). Total free-float market capitalization of the reconstituted Dow Jones GCC Titans 40 Index increased to US$48.55 billion from US$46.18 billion as of June 2, 2010. The Dow Jones GCC Titans 40 Index measures the performance of the 40 leading stocks traded in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
In the Dow Jones Africa Titans 50 Index, the following six stocks will be added: Semafo Inc. (Canada, Basic Resources, SMF.T), Golden Star Resources Ltd. (Canada, Basic Resources, GSC.T), African Minerals Ltd. (Great Britain, Basic Resources, AMI.LN), Ezz Steel Co. S.A.E. (Egypt, Basic Resources, ESRS.CI) Afren PLC (Great Britain, Oil & Gas, AFR.LN) and Vodacom Group Ltd. (South Africa, Telecommunications VOD.JO). Companies exiting are: Fidelity Bank PLC (Nigeria, Banks, FI
DELITYB.LA), Union Bank of Nigeria PLC (Nigeria, Banks, UBN.LA), Intercontinental Bank PLC (Nigeria, Banks, INTERCONT.LA), Afribank Nigeria PLC (Nigeria, Banks, AFRIBANK.LA), PlatinumHabib Bank PLC (Nigeria, Banks, PLATINUM.LA), and ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd. (South Africa, Basic Resources, ACL.JO). Total free-float market capitalization of the reconstituted Dow Jones Africa Titans 50 Index decreased from US$81.26 billion to US$80.77 billion as of June 2, 2010. The Dow Jones Africa Titans 50 Index is a pan-African index that measures the stock performance of leading companies in the region. It includes stocks traded on recognized local exchanges as well as companies traded on international exchanges that generate the majority of their revenues in Africa.
In the Dow Jones Kuwait 30 Index, Kuwait Pipes Industries & Oil Services Co. K.S.C. (Kuwait, Basic Resources, PIPE.KW) will replace Mena Holding Co. K.S.C.C. (Kuwait, Oil & Gas, MENAHOLD.KW). Mena Holding Co. K.S.C.C. is being removed due to the “Early Removal Rule.” The rule is applied when a component in a Dow Jones Country Titans Index is no longer ranked one of the largest companies by float-adjusted market capitalization during the periodic review of component shares and float factors. The Early Removal Rule allows component changes to the Dow Jones Country Titans Indexes to be implemented outside of the index family’s regular annual review in March. Total free-float market capitalization of the reconstituted Dow Jones Kuwait 30 Index decreased from US$23.20 billion to US$22.73 billion as of June 2, 2010. The Dow Jones Kuwait 30 Index measures the performance of the largest and most liquid stocks trading on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.
For the June 2010 review, the following countries are now eligible to be included in the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index: investable China, India, Israel, Russia and Turkey. The stocks from these new countries will be subject to the same selection criteria as existing companies for the annual component review in June 2010. However, Dow Jones Indexes will analyze each company to ensure the highest level of liquidity for countries with barriers to foreign investment. The final weights for each component will be announced after the close of trading on Friday, June 11, 2010.
Further information on the Dow Jones Global Titans 50, Dow Jones Regional Titans and Dow Jones Country Titans Indexes can be found on http://www.djindexes.com
Company additions to and deletions from the Dow Jones Global Titans 50, Dow Jones Country Titans, and Dow Jones Regional Titans indexes do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.
Journalists may e-mail questions regarding this press release to PR-Indexes@dowjones.com.
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Dow Jones Indexes (www.djindexes.com) is a leading full-service index provider that develops, maintains and licenses indexes for use as benchmarks and as the basis of investment products. Best-known for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones Indexes offers more than 130,000 equity indexes as well as fixed-income and alternative indexes, including measures of hedge funds, commodities and real estate. Dow Jones Indexes employs clear, unbiased and systematic methodologies that are fully integrated within index families. Dow Jones Indexes is part of CME Group Index Services LLC, a joint venture company which is owned 90 percent by CME Group Inc. (www.cmegroup.com) and 10 percent by Dow Jones & Company (www.dowjones.com), a News Corporation company /quotes/comstock/15*!nws/quotes/nls/nws (NWS 15.37, -0.06, -0.39%) /quotes/comstock/15*!nwsa/quotes/nls/nwsa (NWSA 13.19, -0.13, -0.98%) (ASX:NWS) (ASX:NWSLV) (www.newscorp.com).
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This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com
SOURCE: Dow Jones Indexes
AUSTRALIA :
EUROPE :
Aid for Madagascar suspended by EU
June 04 2010/www.iol.co.za/Reuters
Brussels – The European Union will extend next week the suspension of 600-million euros of development aid to Madagascar for 12 more months for failing to return to democracy after a March 2009 coup, a draft statement showed.
The EU, the island’s largest donor, suspended the aid last year in response to the army-backed overthrow of Marc Ravalomanana’s government.
The statement due to be approved by EU ministers on Monday calls a unilateral transition plan drawn up by the de facto authorities led by President Andry Rajoelina “unacceptable”.
The draft, obtained by Reuters, said budgetary and development aid would be suspended for 12 more months.
“The measures do not affect humanitarian and emergency aid and certain projects that directly affect the population,” the draft statement said.
“Operations already under way will continue except for activities and payments directly involving the government and its agencies,” it added.
The statement said dialogue with Madagascar would continue and be stepped up “if a consensus-based solution for a return to constitutional order is reached”.
Last month Rajoelina named 10 new ministers, including five military officials, in a cabinet reshuffle which the opposition said fell way short of creating a neutral government.
Foreign donors and international mediators have for months urged Madagascar’s political rivals to form a consensus government tasked with holding new elections.
After negotiations collapsed in April in South Africa, Rajoelina vowed to forge ahead with a new interim government that would oversee a referendum on constitutional reform and a presidential vote in November.
CHINA :
Assembly votes to ban plastic grocery bags
June 4, 2010 /calcoastnews.com
The state Assembly has passed legislation prohibiting California pharmacies and grocery, liquor, and convenience stores from using plastic bags. The bill also calls for customers to be charged for using store-issued paper bags. [AP]
Lawmakers say the purpose of the bill is to reduce the number of plastic bags headed for the landfill and to get rid of the bags that commonly end up in the ocean or riverways.
Other countries including Ireland, China, and South Africa already use fees or bans to reduce the amount of plastic bags.
In 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to require supermarkets and large drug stores to offer customers only bags made from recyclable material.
AB 1998 still needs to clear the Senate. Gov. Schwarzenegger has already indicated his willingness to sign the legislation, hailing it as “a great victory for our environment.”
The American Chemistry Council argues that the bill, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2012, would amount to a $1 billion tax and cost 500 jobs in the plastic bag manufacturing business.
Republicans questioned whether some families could afford the fee for paper bags, estimated by some to be an additional $50 a year.
INDIA :
MTN Says Not Looking To Merge With Or Buy Stake In Reliance
online.wsj.com/JUNE 4, 2010
By Robb M. Stewart Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES JOHANNESBURG (Dow Jones)–MTN Group Ltd. (MTN.JO), Africa’s largest cellphone network operator, said Thursday it isn’t discussing a merger with Reliance Communications Ltd. (532712.BY) or the acquisition of a stake in the Indian company.
The Johannesburg company “emphatically” isn’t in talks with Reliance, Nozipho January-Bardill, MTN’s executive for corporate affairs, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Reliance Wednesday said it had received proposals from international telecommunications companies interested in buying a strategic stake. It didn’t name the firms.
-By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires
SBI readies $1bn war chest for buys in Africa
4 Jun 2010/Dheeraj Tiwari,ET Bureau/economictimes.indiatimes.com
NEW DELHI: State Bank of India is preparing $1-billion war chest to buy a bank in Africa, as the country’s largest lender looks to keep pace with
Indian companies, which are striving to gain a foothold in the resource-rich continent.
The state-run bank is currently examining a number of options in countries such as Botswana, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt. It is looking at banks with a presence across some major countries. “If we don’t do it now, foreign banks with a presence in India will wrest the initiative,” said a senior official from the bank.
Indian companies are increasingly focusing on Africa after ignoring it for several years. China and its companies have a major presence in the continent. The sixth India-Africa project partnership conclave earlier this year was attended by 38 African ministers. The meet discussed 145 business projects worth about $9 billion.
“It’s not only private players. Public sector companies such as ONGC, IOC and Engineers India also have expansion plans in these countries. Our simple approach is to follow them,” he said, requesting anonymity.
Overseas business contributed about 11% of the bank’s net profit in the financial year ended March 2010. The bank’s international credit portfolio increased 54 % to Rs 86,267 crore the year. The bank has also submitted a Rs 40,000 crore fund raising plan for the next three financial years to the finance ministry. The bank will raise money through equity or hybrid debt issues.
An e-mail query to the bank did not elicit any response. The bank’s acquisition strategy will depend on the existence of Indian players in that country, the bilateral relations and the presence of Indian diaspora.
India’s exports to Africa rose from $5.6 billion in 2004-2005 to $14.6 billion in 2008-2009. Africa’s share in India’s total exports is about 8%. “We’re not getting into countries that are politically unstable. A lot will also depend on the local regulatory regime,” the official said.
SBI’s presence in the African continent, apart from South Africa, is through joint venture banks in Mauritius and Nigeria as well as representative offices in Cairo and Angola.
In 2007, SBI had considered a mid-sized South African bank Capitec and had even appointed consultancy firm KPMG to do the due diligence. The deal,
however, never took off.
SBI has a network of 92 offshore offices spread over 32 countries. The bank has so far bought stakes in three foreign banks — one each in Kenya, Mauritius and Indonesia.
The bank, however, is not in a hurry. “After the economic crisis, we have become doubly cautious,” the SBI official said, adding that bank will be focusing on small yet robust banks.
The government is, however, divided on supporting the acquisition plans of Indian public sector banks in foreign countries.
“There is a need to start with merger among public sector banks rather than to look for foreign acquisitions. SBI should look at merging its associates first,” a finance ministry official.
But his view was countered by another finance ministry official. “Presence of Indian banks will further support both private and public sector companies looking for expansion (in Africa),” he said.
SBI Chairman, O P Bhatt had earlier said that the bank is open to foreign acquisitions but it must fit SBI’s environment, public sector culture and business. “And, if that kind of opportunity (for foreign acquisition) is there then SBI will look into it,” Mr. Bhatt had said.
South Africa calls for stronger ties with India
Jun 4/www.newsonair.com
South Africa has called for stronger ties with India. Talking to All India Radio on Friday morning, the visiting President Jacob Zuma said, South Africa and India have very cordial relations and they want to consolidate it further.
Mr Zuma said that after assuming office he chose to visit India as the first Asian country and this shows the importance he attaches to this country. Several agreements are to be signed between the two countries following delegation level talks this afternoon in New Delhi.
Sources said, during the talks with Dr. Manmohan Singh, the focus will be on defence, trade and economy, agriculture, transport and communications. The two sides will also discuss the steps to revamp bilateral investment promotion agreement.
UN reforms will be an important area of discussion between the two countries. The visiting dignitary is to address captains of industry in New Delhi this afternoon. Leader of opposition, Vice-President and UPA Chairperson will also call on him.
The President Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil will host a banquet in the honour of the visiting dignitary.
Mr. Zuma arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday with a high level delegation comprising more than two hundred delegates on his maiden visit to the country after assuming office last year.
He was given a ceremonial reception at the forecourts of Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday morning. Mr. Zuma and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma yesterday launched the India-South Africa CEOs Forum in Mumbai.
BRASIL:
EN BREF, CE 04 juin 2010 … AGNEWS / OMAR, BXL,04/06/2010
